Two decades in, Psycroptic channel their legacy into a refreshed, groove‑forward assault without sacrificing an ounce of their surgical intensity.

PSYCROPTIC

Tasmania’s premier tech‑death export have been standard‑bearers since forming in 1999, with the Haley brothers’ (David and Joe) intricate foundations long revered across the global scene. I’ve followed them since the mid‑2000s, when Symbols Of Failure revealed just how uniquely they fuse hyper‑technical riffcraft with rampant groove.

Their dual‑vocal assault, introduced on Divine Council, via Jason Peppiatt and Jason Keyser returns here on their ninth full‑length, with bassist Todd Stern completing the line‑up. Anyone who’s witnessed a Psycroptic show knows their uncompromising ability to merge dazzling precision with outright grooving brutality, all delivered with a streak of humour.

THE PULSE OF ANNIHILATION

This ninth album marks the band’s first outing for Metal Blade Records, a partnership that feels overdue given their long‑standing calibre. While their tech credentials remain unshaken, the record sees a new found and refreshed groove, veering between epic tech wizardry to shorter, precision‑tooled riff assaults. Opener Ashes Of A New Dawn signals this evolution with its atmospheric lead‑in before erupting into blast‑driven intensity and incendiary fretwork woven deep into the song’s fabric. The dual vocal attack is immediately evident, each voice adding tonal bite, before Gathering A Venomous Herd crashes in with groove riffing focus and hook‑laden drum work making it easy to see why it was an obvious choice for the first single. Like all Psycroptic songs the inundation of tech is understated as the constantly pirouetting guitar work and sumptuous percussion catapult the song skywards.

A SWORD OF ME

Psycroptic have long threaded acoustic textures into their work, and A Sword Of Me opens with an emotive, almost tribal passage before sliding into slower, atmospheric riffing. It’s a reminder of their unique song writing breadth, even as the track’s aggression steadily evolves. No Time For The Weak snaps back to technical terrorising, the dual vocals front‑and‑centre as modern, pulverising swagger drives its constantly shifting riffs and nimble drum work.

Our Pillars Fall brings back acoustic guitar and stretches to nearly seven minutes, opening under an eerie shroud as Amy Wiles’ haunting vocals pour in creeping tension The tension coils tighter with every second before the track shifts into progressive shapes that finally snaps into straight tech‑death. The dual vocals carve sharp contrast against the guitar work, while David Haley’s drumming, phenomenal as ever, drives the song’s escalating menace.

ANNIHILATION PULSE

Annihilation Pulse effectively serves as the album’s title track, its revolving tempos locked to Joe Haley’s acrobatic, near‑virtuosic guitar work. To Embrace This Curse opens on a groove‑laden foundation before being abruptly crushed by punishing blasts, echoing modern Decapitated and Revocation. The closer, Forging The Crown, uses atmospheric acoustic guitar to build towards the inevitable explosion of riffs and pivoting tempo changes. It’s a stand out finale, veering between brutality and razor-edged technical prowess as the dual vocals deepen the song’s textural dynamics.  

The Pulse of Annihilation proves the band can expand their sonic palette without sacrificing the intricate ferocity that defines them.

Psycroptic: Website

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